Lee universal deprimer die

[mrmachinist]

Remember from a metallurgical standpoint that is a hard thing to make. very small and if it’s too soft it deforms, too hard and it snaps. Keep a spare on hand and don’t worry about it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jetinteriorguy]

Well, I have the same problem trying to use a lee universal decapper on a CO-AX press. The small diamieter of the punch does not center the pin the case under the pin. CO-AX shell holder moves left or right to line up with the die that can move front or back. This requires a die that centers the case before the primer pin gets to the bottom of the case or you are trying to punch a hole beside the primer and bingo, broken pin or bent shaft. I broke two on the first two cases I tried to deprime on my CO-AX. Also the CO-AX has a lot of push using the long handle and it doesn't take a lot of hand pressure to mash something if it isn't lined up.

Any way, the Lee decapper and the CO-AX don't mix well. You can make it work by carefully lowering the die onto the case and wiggling it until you feel it enter the flash hole but it's more trouble than it's worth. It's just a lot easier and faster to use the proper depriming die for case you're depriming.

I broke two and Lee's web site said they would only send one free + $5 IIRC for shipping. I figured I could make them cheaper and maybe even better. I used military 5.56 cleaning rods ( perfect dia) cut to length and universal joint pins in both ends. If I break one I just flip it over and keep going.

I wouldn't call the Lee universal decapper junk but it does not work well on a CO-AX.

This is exactly the OP’s problem. I can always tell if my case isn’t lined up properly so the pin is hitting the primer, not the case base. If you can’t feel this your way too heavy handed, but this is also easy to remedy, don’t have the slip nut torqued down so tight that it won’t slip if you hit too much resistance. I mean, this thing is literally designed not to break when used properly.

[jim147]

I don't have a CO-AX so no way to test the difference. I run the Lee hand press between my knees at a 30-45 degree angle, depending on how much tv or internet I'm doing. It has never had a problem hitting the flash hole.

Does anyone have both to compare?

[tdoor4570]

I have both RCBS and Lee deprimer dies and have been using the for an excess of 10 years. only bent 1 deprimer rod on a federal 357 brass with an offcenter hole. I have extra rods and pins for both if I need them.

[rbuck351]

I have several presses and all that use a fixed die and a fixed shell holder work fine with the Lee universal decapper. With the CO-AX the dies and the shell holder both float and there is nothing in the Lee decapper to center the case under the deprimer pin so if you use it on a CO-AX, the only way to be sure it centers is to move the case and die around until it lines up with the flash hole. I quit using the Lee decapper on my CO-AX and use the proper die for that case and use the Lee in one of my other presses.

But yes, I broke two in two trys on the CO-AX before I decided that something was wrong. I set the Lee decapper fairly tight as I sometimes deprime crimped in primers and I tighten them until they won't slip on a crimped primer. Now that I make my own shaft and use ujoint pins, I don't care if I pop one now and then.

I'm not a Lee basher but Lee has made some stuff that I wouldn't recommend to anyone. I don't think the universal decapper is one of the bad things.

[JimB..]

Well, I have the same problem trying to use a lee universal decapper on a CO-AX press. The small diamieter of the punch does not center the pin the case under the pin. CO-AX shell holder moves left or right to line up with the die that can move front or back. This requires a die that centers the case before the primer pin gets to the bottom of the case or you are trying to punch a hole beside the primer and bingo, broken pin or bent shaft. I broke two on the first two cases I tried to deprime on my CO-AX. Also the CO-AX has a lot of push using the long handle and it doesn't take a lot of hand pressure to mash something if it isn't lined up.

Any way, the Lee decapper and the CO-AX don't mix well. You can make it work by carefully lowering the die onto the case and wiggling it until you feel it enter the flash hole but it's more trouble than it's worth. It's just a lot easier and faster to use the proper depriming die for case you're depriming.

I broke two and Lee's web site said they would only send one free + $5 IIRC for shipping. I figured I could make them cheaper and maybe even better. I used military 5.56 cleaning rods ( perfect dia) cut to length and universal joint pins in both ends. If I break one I just flip it over and keep going.

I wouldn't call the Lee universal decapper junk but it does not work well on a CO-AX.

Thanks, I never thought of this! I’ve just accepted that the pins bend and break, now I need to try another press.

[1hole]

Thanks, I never thought of this! I’ve just accepted that the pins bend and break, now I need to try another press.

You can't do better for that than a little Lee "Reloader" press dedicated to the Universal Decapper die.

The question isn't - or shouldn't be - does any maker make junk because they don't. The right question is, "Does any maker have a better product for some tasks than others?" The answer to that is, "Yes". Most of the time it doesn't matter what color something is because most tools are not automatically any better than the others.

Off hand, I can't remember any brand that has dropped more presses than RCBS. That doesn't mean RCBS' presses are junk, it simply means a lot of things aren't as good as the makers hoped.

The childish bashing of all things Lee as "junk" gets old after a few decades.

[sparky45]

CONDITOR 22 has the correct response/answer. You CAN'T break the pin if you have the die properly adjusted. The stem of the pin simply moves backwards into the die.

[TheDoctor]

The best Universal Decapping Die is made my Mighty Armory. One of the best reloading items I ever bought.

MIGHTY ARMORY

Yeah buddy! I've accidentally made flash holes in berdan brass with my Blue.

[richhodg66]

I just got the Mighty Armory one in yesterday, excellent looking tool, well worth the extra money over the Lee crap.

Like they say; "buy once, cry once".

[remy3424]

I am confident you can manage to break this one also...switch press you decap on...guessing we won't hear about you new breaking since it isn't Lee.

[Liberty1776]

I went to a separate depriming step for a couple of reasons:

1. I wet tumble with stainless steel media pins, and beside the primer pockets being cleaned, the brass drains and dries faster if deprimed

2. I experienced several primers being pushed out by the sizer die in my Dillon, pinching onto the depriming pin, and then pulled back into the case. This led to dud rounds. I blamed the primer, but later realized I literally reinstalled a dead primer.

So, I deprime all my brass as a first step.

I use two methods to deprime:

1. The Frankford Armory hand deprimer, if I feel like sitting in front of the TV to deprime, or

2. The Lee Universal Deprime die in a little alloy open front Lee press I got from a guy clearing out his garage. Can't count the number of cases it has deprimed. Tens of thousands.

I've broken two pins, both due to me forcing them into an obstruction. I've learned that if it's not working easily, something is wrong.

Usually, there's a small rock in the shell. Other times it's a Berdan case. Once in a while, it's an undersized primer hole or a crimped primer that is in there really, really tight.

No given brass case is worth breaking a pin. If they don't cooperate, scrap them. They'll probably give you problems down the road anyway. Toss 'em.

By the way, I've never actually broken a Lee pin. They bend into a hook. I tried to straighten one once. Didn't work.

They are tools, with limits.

Reminds me of my kid brother, who once jammed a shovel into the ground to the hilt to start digging a hole, then pushed down on the handle with all his might, trying to pull all that compacted dirt up in one go. The handle snapped off the blade. He blamed the shovel. "Stupid cheap shovel!"

The problem was not with the shovel. I welded the blade back onto the handle and used that shovel for the next 50 years.

In reloading, the machines and tools will tell you if they're working right. Every time I force something, I smash a shell, mis-seat a bullet, try to smash a large primer into a small-primer .45 shell...or bend a depriming pin.

I've learned I cannot deprime through a pebble, regardless of brand.

[powwowell]

I just have to respond to the OP. It is a misstatement to call all of the Lee lineup of reloading equipment junk, crap, or any other derogatory term. He is just ranting. Have done it myself, at times.

If it were not for Lee, I never would have gotten into reloading. Lee was the only way I could afford it. Flash forward to today I have two presses on my bench . . . a Lee Classic Turret and a Dillon Square Deal B. The Lee Classic is the ONLY press that I deprime with. Over the years I have bent exactly 1 (one) pin in the Lee Universal die. A .38 Special case that was not fully inserted into the shell holder.

[Rich/WIS]

Have used the Lee for 20+ years with no problems, but in almost 50 tears of reloading have broken/bent decappers in RCBS and Lyman. Nothing lasts forever and I see occasionally replacing pins as a part of life.

[jetinteriorguy]

I just got the Mighty Armory one in yesterday, excellent looking tool, well worth the extra money over the Lee crap.

Like they say; "buy once, cry once".

I find it pretty interesting you’re pretty much the only one in this whole thread which you started who is complaining about the ‘Lee crap’, especially about your issues with the universal decapping die. And most likely the problem is with the tools your using it with, not the die itself.

[QuackAttack24]

Nothing about reloading is complicated, if it was there would be far less of it. IF we pay attention to what we're doing we can usually detect developing problems before things break. Tim Taylor's "apply more power" is rarely the best plan.

A lot of things can break decap pins and prevent proper primer ejection. Sometimes a foreign object is in the case, sometimes the flash hole is way off center, sometimes the case isn't fully into the shell holder, etc. Whatever, if something is stopping the pin, pushing down harder is never the answer. (We can't rightly blame a tool maker if we don't use his tools correctly! )

My young friend's excellent Lee Universal Decapper die has a steel body, a steel collet (which centers the stem very well), a sturdy steel stem and a small steel punch pin; snarky implications aside, nothing about it will easily melt, bend or break.

Lee's primer punch pins are heat treated needle bearings about .050" diameter; they're extremely strong for that small size. The small size is required by their intended use, not Richard Lee, and using another brand of decap pin (at any price, including "Mighty Armor") won't change that.

Is Lee's Universal die "unbreakable"? Well, obviously not. Fact is, nothing is unbreakable to a sufficiently determined bad user is it? But, IMHO, Lee's decap die is about as unbreakable as a small mechanical device can be.

The increased effort required to continue pushing a press lever down when something is wrong is all the feedback a user is ever going to get from such simple devices, we ignore it at our peril! So, "Pay attention to what you're doing!" is all anyone can say to prevent repeatedly broken parts.

^This is a well worded version of how I was about to respond. I've broken a few de-priming pins, but it's ALWAYS when the ram goes "clunk" and I keep pushing harder. I don't do that any more. Happened again to me yesterday. I was de-priming .44 cases and there was a 9mm case hiding in the bottom of it. It's best to stop at stop signs!

[lightman]

I've been using a Lee Universal Depriming die for a few years. I've only broken one pin and like Liberty1776 said, there was a small rock in the case. I've also broken pins in Lyman and RCBS dies. But I use a Rockchucker press and not the Co-Ax with the floating die and universal shell holder.

For the record, I was not impressed with Lee's customer service and just ordered a few extra pins from Midway. And I make it a point to do a better job of looking in the cases that I'm working on.

The Mighty Armory die looks good and gets good reviews.

[1hole]

Just a thought about those who sneer at all things Lee: Lee's a handy excuse for the failures of people who can repeatedly destroy boat anchors with a pocket knife. After all, every smart reloader knows Lee stuff doesn't work, right???

[Soundguy]

No words of wisdom here. I can say that I’ve de-capped someplace in the neighborhood of 100,000 cases (over 40,000 using a Lee universal de-capping die and my Lee APP press in the last year) over the years. The only time I’ve broken the pin was because of my own neglect. I’ve had 22rimfire brass stuck inside brass that I was trying to de-cap, or berdan primed, etc. I’ve never had it just break. I guess I’ve been lucky

Agreed... I've decapped enough where I had 'buckets' of spent primers... I've bent exactly 1 decap stem ( rcbs ), and broke a pin ( rcbs ), and made the collet type decap stems slip a few times ( LEE ). Thousands and thousands of rounds....

Interestingly enough most of the issues were hornady brass... small prime holes and off center. plus one sneaky berdan.

[725]

To continue to carry on in the exercise of beating a dead horse, some like Lee and some don't. I like Lee. Use it the way the instruction tell you to and you'll be fine. Stuff happens (like Bredan cases), get over it. In the EOD community, we live by the maxim, "Don't force it." Should apply here as well. Don't like Lee, don't use it. Think it's junk, say so. We who do like it will continue to use it and say so, too.